Practice Technology

Family Practice Associates in Delaware got a phone call back in 2007 that most practices never expect to receive.

Common characteristics of better-performing medical practices include comparing individual performance to internal and external peers, employing midlevels, and ensuring efficient patient flow through the practice, according to an MGMA report.

Letters discuss human side of patients, doctor-patient relationships, long-term care insurance, and electronic health records.

Users of AT&T's portfolio of mobile health (mHealth), cloud-based, and telehealth products?ForHealth?now will have the ability to automatically transmit readings from retail health monitors to electronic health records and review and manage collected data remotely from any location with Internet connectivity now that the portfolio includes two products from MedApps (HealthPAL and Health COM, respectively).

The Healthcare Information and Management System Society (HIMSS) is now accepting applications for the 2011 HIMSS Davies Awards of Excellence. The awards program honors independent physician practices, public health and community health organizations, and hospitals and health systems that have successfully achieved value from electronic health record systems to improve healthcare delivery.

When it comes to helping patients refrain from smoking, a treatment strategy that includes both the Internet and the telephone is more successful than treatment that includes only the Internet or includes the Internet with tailored content and social support, according to the results of research published in the January 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

The Healthcare Information and Management System Society (HIMSS) has launched Meaningful Use OneSource, an online repository of hundreds of documents, tools, and links to other knowledge available online.

Eighty-six percent of patients do not access their medical records electronically despite vast investments in electronic health records (EHR) systems and high hopes that consumers will use EHRs to participate in shared medical decision-making, according to research conducted by PwC's Health Research Institute in conjunction with its "Top Health Industry Issues of 2011" report. PwC surveyed 1,000 U.S. consumers about their points of view on reform-related issues.

Registration for the Medicare electronic health record (EHR) incentive program and, in some states, the Medicare EHR incentive program, is now available.

The American Medical Association (AMA) and 103 state and specialty medical societies urged the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to revise the Medicare e-prescribing penalty policy in a letter sent to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. This policy, which would penalize physicians next year if they don?t use e-prescribing in the first 6 months of this year, will hurt efforts to implement widespread health information technology (IT) adoption among physician practices and cause them to take on needless financial and administrative burdens, according to the organizations.

Research firm KLAS has released its 2010 Top 20 Best in KLAS Awards: Software & Professional Services report, which includes the annual rankings of healthcare information technology vendors. The rankings are based on more than 17,000 interviews conducted yearly with healthcare providers.

Personalized electronic messages to patients overdue for screenings and mailings targeted to patients with expired orders for colonoscopies may increase colorectal cancer screening rates over the short term, according to two reports posted online that will be published in the April 11 print issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

Technology needs to change so that information can be accessed quickly, easily, and safely if the Patient-Centered Medical Home?Neighbor (PCMH?N) model is going to be successful, writes Christine A. Sinsky, MD, a general internist, in the January 3 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. Her editorial was in response to a position paper released by the American College of Physicians (ACP) in October.

One of the many technological advances in healthcare is the electronic health record. However, paper-based records are still the preferred method of recording, storing and retrieving patient information in many hospitals and doctors' offices.

The author offers some tips to keep exam rooms and bank accounts full in light of today's foreclosures, layoffs and lost insurance from patients.

The online directory for physicians who accept Medicare has expanded to distinguish which doctors reported quality data to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and will soon indicate which doctors prescribe electronically.

Hospitals with basic electronic health records demonstrated a significantly greater increase in quality of care for patients being treated for heart failure, but similar gains were not found in hospitals that upgraded to advanced electronic health records, according to RAND Corp.

Letters discuss ACOs, decision-making, and electronic health records.

The cost of inefficient healthcare claims processes, payment, and reconciliation is estimated to be between $21 billion and $210 billion, eating up to 10% to 14% of physician practice revenue, according to the American Medical Association.

Letters discuss social networking and practicing solo.

Individual choice and control over personal health information were favored by the majority of Americans participating in an online survey of more than 2,000 adults performed by Patient Privacy Rights and with Zogby International. The survey sought views on privacy, access to health information, and health information technology.

Healthcare reform will require physicians and hospitals to engage in information-sharing via collaborations such as health information exchanges (HIEs) and accountable care organizations (ACOs). Results of a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report, however, found that both groups must overcome issues with one other to be successful.

Have a beef about your practice?s implementation or use of an electronic health record (EHR) system? You can report it at EHRevent.org, a new site launched by the not-for-profit iHealth Alliance in collaboration with federal agencies and PDR Network.

About 90% of healthcare providers who have purchased electronic health records (EHR) systems are not on track to meet their 'meaningful use' implementation goals, according to the 2011 Black Book Rankings user survey.

A fully automated cell phone-based telemonitoring system that involves patients in their care significantly improved blood pressure control among patients who had diabetes and uncontrolled systolic hypertension, according to a study by Alexander G. Logan, MD, of the University of Toronto, and colleagues.